Retirement Planning

Retirement planning is the single highest-leverage financial project most people will ever undertake — and the one most often postponed until it is expensive to fix. This book treats retirement as a 70-year arc, from the first paycheck at 22 to the final withdrawals at 92, and gives you the math, the accounts, and the strategies to walk that arc with confidence.

Who this book is for

It is written for the absolute beginner who has never opened a retirement account, as well as the mid-career saver who wants to pressure-test a plan already in motion. No prior finance background is assumed. Every account type, every rule, and every strategy is explained in plain English, with worked numbers you can follow on a napkin.

What you will walk away with

You will know how to calculate your retirement "number," how to choose among the alphabet soup of accounts — 401(k), 403(b), 457, IRA, Roth IRA, SEP, SIMPLE, Solo 401(k) — and how to capture every dollar of employer match. You will understand Social Security claiming strategy, when an annuity helps and when it hurts, how to plan for healthcare and Medicare, and how to draw down a portfolio without running out of money. The book closes with the FIRE movement and a catalogue of the mistakes that derail otherwise solid plans.

How to read it

The chapters run in life-stage order, so reading start to finish gives you a complete plan. But each chapter also stands alone — if you are five years from retirement, jump to the withdrawal and sequence-of-returns chapters first. Retirement rules, contribution limits, and tax brackets change frequently; treat every figure here as a well-grounded illustration and confirm current numbers with the IRS, the Social Security Administration, or a qualified professional before acting.

Start with Why Retirement Planning Starts at 22 →